Apart from a setting in the menu which may be inhibiting the acquisition of satellites, are you using the GPS in an electrical environment where radiated signals from other devices or overhead power lines etc may be swamping the NMEA signal and the GPS is unable to discern what is what.

Has it been moved a vast distance from the last time it was operated? If so it may have to initiate the whole thing, hence long wait time. Do you make sure it is set, country and zone applicable, so it can find itself more readily?

You say you've updated software & maps but you tried connecting your Garmin to your PC & going to http://www.garmin.com to try trouble shooting the problem & maybe identifying any necessary up-dates &/or upgrades that you may have missed?? For those who don't know about doing this, most 'updates' are free, it generally only costs if you want to upgrade &/or change your map-set or maybe add new features from a newer device....

But hey, if this has all happened since you did an update, connect it up again & try trouble shooting it that way - can't hurt to give it a go, surely! And for everyone else, if you haven't ever done it for your GPS, it's usually pretty easy (hey, even I can do it!) & it doesn't usually take a heap of time or cost much (if anything) & is probably something you should do at least once a year anyway!! Ask yourself how old is your GPS & when was it last updated on the Garmin website??

An Ex-Service person is someone who thought enough about their country & how great it is, how lucky we are to live here, to write a blank cheque made out to 'The People and Commonwealth of Australia' for the value of 'Up to & including my Life!'